VATICAN CITY (RNS) A Melbourne publication on Friday (Feb. 19) claimed Pell was the subject of a probe in Australia’s southeast state of Victoria over allegations he sexually abused between five and 10 boys.

(RNS) Pope Francis has approved the first-ever system for judging, and possibly deposing, bishops who fail to protect children from abusive clerics, a major step in responding to Catholics who have been furious that guilty priests have been defrocked while bishops have largely escaped punishment.

VATICAN CITY (RNS) “Obedience and closed environments also seem to have had a role in the prevalence of abuse within some religious orders and dioceses,” the report said. “Obligatory celibacy may also have contributed to abuse.”